The centers

It's too early to call this a good class of centers, though it already looks epic compared to last year. I will say that there are some interesting players out there who should make watching the bigs this year a tad more interesting. They're in three groups at this point. There's the projects, players who have flashed some great raw ability, but need to fix some things in their games. Then we have the more polished players who look good, but may never be more than NBA reserves. And at the top is Cole Aldrich, who going in is the only sure thing. This is returning centers only, as I don't comment on players who have yet to log court time at the NCAA level. The freshmen will be mixed in during the season. Here's a very rough, certain to change a lot during the season, order of how I like them going in:

1. Cole Aldrich, Kansas: He's very solid. Does everything well enough that no team should be concerned about him becoming a bust. Because last year was his first full season, improvement should be expected this year. He's probably a tad better than his numbers show, because the Jayhawk offense has always been perimeter-oriented, so he's never gotten the looks others may have. Unless he falls apart he seems like a lock for the top 5 and could even go #1.
2. Solomon Alabi, Florida State: He needs to improve, especially the scoring, rebounding and turnovers. He is 7'1" and he can block shots. That's a good start for any center prospect.
   
3. Greg Monroe, Georgetown: He doesn't rebound or block shots well enough and usually that's a deal-killer. But Monroe is young enough to get better and he does so many other things well, that I don't feel it's wrong to put him here.
   
4. Jerome Jordan, Tulsa: Solid enough across the board that expecting him to become a decent reserve isn't out of line.
   
5. Dexter Pittman, Texas: He's almost impossible to stop inside and is a solid rebounder. The downside is he's overweight, plays low minutes and has been terrible defensively.
6. Cruz Daniels, High Point: I like him the best of all the small college guys. None of them really stand out, but there are a few that merit watching. Daniels doesn't score much, but he blocks shots more frequently than any player here, rebounds well and hits over 63% of the shots he takes. His weight is listed at 220, so he needs to do some work there also.
7. Keith Benson, Oakland: Benson does everything well enough, but as a small college player I'd like to see him be a little more dominant. I'm a little concerned his production will drop off, because the Golden Grizz return PF Derick Nelson this year, their top rebounder in 2007 and 2008. Nelson missed 2009 with an injury when Benson emerged.
   
8. AJ Ogilvy, Vanderbilt: His numbers have always been weak, but there was an uptick across the board last year. Specifically he needs to block more shots and improve his efficiency on the offensive end.
9. Larry Sanders, VCU: He's smallish and very raw on offense, but he can block shots with the best of them and he's a solid rebounder.
   
10. Brian Zoubek, Duke: I consider him a sleeper to emerge this year. He's shown some decent ability as a 3-year part-timer. As a senior he might suddenly kick up his game to the point where he has to be kept on the court. It doesn't help that he plays for a program thta has pretty much embraced smallball.